Sewage contaminates sprawling Perungalathur Lake

Unchecked encroachments and pollution are taking a severe toll on many lakes in the southern suburbs of Chennai, and the Perungalathur ‘periya eri' (big lake) is no exception. Originally spread over 150 acres, the lake's expanse is now less than 100 acres, due to unchecked construction of unauthorised structures, according to officials at the Kancheepuram District unit of the Public Works Department (PWD). Officials said that encroachments around the lake, which had began to trickle in some decades ago, had now assumed enormous proportions.